Homebuyer Centres make Gazumping and Gazundering a thing of the past

Homebuyer Centres make Gazumping and Gazundering a thing of the past

There is currently a division in the property market whereby there is a scarcity of certain desirable homes available for sale, yet an oversupply of others. So gazumping and gazundering are rife, both of which cause a degree of heartache for someone, and are often the cause of a sale falling through altogether with everyone losing out.

Normally a buyer stands the risk of the seller offering their property to another buyer (should they come along with a higher offer) at any time up to exchange of contracts – gazumping. But by this time the buyer may have spent many weeks and hundreds of pounds on surveys and conveyancing fees. Likewise buyers can attempt to use the downturn in the market to renegotiate on the price at the eleventh hour – gazundering. However, the buyer representation service offered by over 60 Homebuyer Centre licenced estate agents around the UK has launched an offer contract that helps prevent these practices – to everyone’s advantage.

“The property purchase process is fraught with stress and uncertainty, which is why we have launched a new kind of offer document which ties both buyer and seller into an agreement that helps prevent either party pulling out unless there is a serious issue”, says Tim Hammond, CEO of the Homebuyer Centre. “Gazumping and gazundering is almost zero in other countries where buyers and sellers often have some form of contract in place from the moment the offer is accepted. When a buyer uses The Homebuyer Centre they have the option to pay a pre-contract deposit which ties both themselves and the vendor into an agreement not to pull out.

“The popularity of retaining an ‘expert to work for the buyer’ has in part been due to the ongoing uncertainty in the property market, but largely because people are just getting busier and realise that the home-buying process is too time-consuming, cumbersome and stressful. The Homebuyer Centre, which has opened 60 branches across the UK in the past four months enables buyers to save time, money and the stress of house-hunting.

“Our job is to provide buyers with a local property expert in the town who has access to every property available through any estate agent, or privately. A Homebuyer Centre agent knows the market intimately and represents the buyer’s best interests. They spend time getting to know their buying clients, gaining a real understanding of their needs and lifestyle, and helping them define their requirements and areas of potential compromise in detail. Once they discard several possibilities and help find a suitable property, they then negotiate the very best terms for their client, having gained substantial market evidence in support of their offer. When we have spent so much time and effort securing a property for our homebuyer clients, the last thing we want is for the purchase to fall through" says Hammond.

With a national chain of high street branches backing this initiative, gazumping and gazundering really could become a thing of the past.